My musings on the New Testament, Early Christianity, Religion, Literature, and Other Phenomena and Ephemera.

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Quote of the Day: Homeric Hymn to Demeter

She went to the kings who administer law,Triptolemos and Diokles, driver of horses, mightyEumolpos and Keleos, leader of the people, and revealedthe conduct of her rites and taught her Mysteries to all of them,holy rites that are not to be transgressed, nor pried into,nor divulged. For a great awe of the gods stops the voice.Blessed is the mortal on earth who has seen these rites,but the uninitiate who has no share in them neverhas the same lot once dead in the dreary darkness. (Hymn to Demeter 473-82; trans. Foley)

I would tell you what this means, but "a great awe of the gods stops the voice."

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About Me

I have a Ph.D. in Religion from Columbia University. I am a visiting assistant professor at Illinois College. I have also taught at the University of Mississippi, Illinois Wesleyan University, and Columbia University. My research focuses on the New Testament and emergent Christian interactions with ancient Judaism in their Greco-Roman and ancient Near Eastern environments.